The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Echinacea and given the cultivar name ‘Secret Desire’. Echinacea is in the family Asteraceae. This new cultivar is a third generation seeding originating from a planned breeding program using Echinacea purpurea ‘Razzmatazz’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,894) as the seed parent in the original cross and unnamed proprietary, unreleased interspecific hybrids for the pollen parent. The exact parents of this selection are unknown, unnamed, proprietary plants.
Compared to Echinacea purpurea ‘Razzmatazz’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,894), the seed parent in the original breeding line, the new variety has larger flowers that are a multicolored orange rather than pink.
Compared to Echinacea ‘Hot Papaya’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,022), the new cultivar has larger and softer orange colored flowers.
This new Echinacea cultivar is distinguished by:                1. enlarged disc florets forming an anemone-type inflorescence,        2. very large inflorescences,        3. ray and disc florets a two-toned pink and soft orange color,        4. a medium sized, upright habit with good branching, and        5. excellent vigor.        
This new cultivar has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (division and tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by division and tissue culture using standard micropropagation techniques with terminal and lateral shoots, as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.